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Administrative Law Keyed to Breyer
Federal Trade Commission v. Standard Oil Co. of California
Citation:
449 U.S. 232 (1980)Facts
In July 1973, the Federal Trade Commission issued a complaint against Standard Oil Company of California (Socal) and seven other major oil companies, alleging violations of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. The complaint charged that the companies had maintained a noncompetitive market structure in oil refining, exercised monopoly power, and followed common courses of action to accommodate each other’s needs throughout the petroleum industry. Socal filed a lawsuit in federal district court seeking to have the FTC’s complaint withdrawn, arguing that the Commission had issued its complaint without having “reason to believe” that Socal was violating the Act as required by statute. Socal contended that political pressure related to the 1973 gasoline shortages had forced the Commission to issue the complaint despite insufficient investigation. Socal pointed to the limited investigation conducted by the FTC before issuing the complaint and subsequent events suggesting that the Commission lacked sufficient evidence to support its charges.
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